Juozas Naujalis (9 April 1869 in

Raudondvaris Raudondvaris is a village on the Nevėžis River in Kaunas district, Lithuania, west of Kaunas city municipality. History The town was first mentioned in Teutonic chronicles in 1392. The old castle was rebuilt after the Battle of Grunwald an ...

– 9 September 1934 in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

) was a

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

and choir conductor. He is acclaimed as Lithuanian music patriarch.

Biography

Naujalis studied Warsaw Institute of Music and in

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

. In 1898, he founded the Lithuanian Society of Singers ''Daina'' and was one of the founder of St. Gregor's Society of Lithuanian Organists in Kaunas. He was excellent Master and Rector of his founded School of Organists (1913) and Music School (1919) in

. Was the conductor of the Cathedral Choir in Kaunas and from 1933 was the professor and Conductor of Organ Music in the Conservatory of Kaunas. Composed masses, motets, organ works and music for choir, symphonic poem ''The Autumn''.

Works and style

Juozas Naujalis' music was mostly connected to the main areas of his work –

church music Church music is Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. History Early Christian music The onl ...

, choral songs, music for organ. He upheld classical traditions, classical harmony, and did not accept innovations in the music language. His choral music holds an important place in his creative legacy, which includes 27 original songs for choir, 17 harmonizations of the folk songs, as well as large portion of church music: 13 masses, 23 motets, hymns, psalms, and other religious pieces – more than 150 compositions in all. His instrumental works include 45 compositions for organ, piano, and orchestra.Music Information Centre Lithuania
Juozas Naujalis
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References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Naujalis, Juozas 1869 births 1934 deaths People from Kaunas District Municipality People from Kovno Governorate Lithuanian composers Lithuanian organists Male organists Chopin University of Music alumni